Tag Archive | nycrunning

I am signed for SOMETHING every weekend for the next two months so I am going to keep these reports short (this one ends with a twist…).

So, this is the same 4 mile loop I race about 15 times a year… or so. I’ve done this course soooo many times I can do it in my sleep. And like those super-tired-just-did-speedwork sleeps… I met Patricia at the start corral (and Steve, heeey!!) and she asked me what pace I’d do it in… I said around 28:30. Then I told her “my first mile is going to be 7:15, my second mile is going to be 7:02, third mile is usually around 7:30 and then a 6:55 or 6:56 closer”. She looked at me like I was crazy, but that how I pace to an average 7:02 or 7:05 average race. IN GENERAL, of course.

The weather was great, which I wasn’t expecting. We had been told all week it was going to rain. Now, if I have to count how many races the weather people got it wrong for, I can just give you a list of all my races…!!! I still didn’t feel like racing, so I had woken up at 6:30, took Diego (my friend’s dog I was watching) out to pee and got back into bed. Until 8 am. Race was to start at 9.

When the gun went off, I went into auto mode. At mile 1, I pointed at the clock, I was right on what I had predicted. I then noticed I hadn’t turned on my gps. Oh well. I had no idea what my first mile and a bit was … that’s why I am not posting screenshots of my laps. Mile 2 was fast as usual and I lost Patricia. I wasn’t sure but I thought she had dropped back a bit. Mile 3, I remembered to lap my watch so I have the two last laps, mile 3 was 7:15 (what?) though I didn’t look at it at the time. And last mile, here is the twist, was a 6:33 closer. WHAT?

WHAT?
where did that come from??

Still, I waited a bit to check my results (I had forgotten about live results…!) and I saw 28:04. that is SO close to my 28:00 PR!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was another shocker. Maybe I am closer than I think to PR shape… I went into the United NYC Half thinking I wasn’t, I didn’t push to PR, then I had that whole mess with the layers…. Last week’s 10K went great, even tired a week post-half. Seems like I might be sharper than I thought… Yes, I have the lowest expectations and you all told me, I know, but I get there when I get there, okay?

Stats Time:

Finish time: 28:04 Average Pace: 7:01

Previous PR: 28:00 From: April, 2013

Age Grading: 71.06%

Overall Place: 338 of 4,731

Gender Place: 30 of 2,250

Age Place: 3 of 240

back into the 71% AG wohoooooo. I love it when you are just sitting in bed on race day and really don’t want to get out of bed but then you have a fast and surprising race… Mostly because that happens aaaaall the time!! 😉

Patricia and I met up at the B corral as usual. Patricia finished a few seconds behind me at the United NYC Half last weekend so we figured we were in good shape to run together. Also, we were still recovering from the half so we were taking this as a workout. A very hard, structured, tempo, with lots of pacers. We met Gordon in the corral, along with a bunch more people. This is a “classic” NYRR race, like a toned down version of their usually big megaproductions, where the price is lower, there is no t-shirt, smaller field, and no prizes. Closer to what a regular race anywhere else in the world looks like. But I had never done one of these and was super curious.

Anyway, the horn blows, Patricia and I start together committed to run together. We’d start slow, as there’s Harlem Hill on the first mile. And then pick it up.

It was SO HOT. I was wearing a bra and tiny shorts already. In March. Amazing. We pretty much run good splits though we kept telling each other we were going too fast about every 20 seconds… We saw a few friends cheering, heeeey, we went up and down Cat Hill and then we pushed a bit. And we were done. We actually finished the race and crossed over the finish line holding hands, given how we had worked together through the whole race. Note to self: SO hard to run proper tangents when you run with someone (who doesn’t!!!), after a few miles, I started pointing where to go, I hope Patricia learned!!

Then… we did caught up with Carolina who was at the finish, we did a northern loop with Patricia and Justin, then I run to the Run Center, and then I hosted the NYRR History Tour with Gordon Bakoulis through the park. 15 miles total. I was RAVENOUS after. I almost ate my arm.

don’t ask. I don’t.

NYRR History Tour. Organized by NYRR and usually hosted by Grandmaster Stuart Calderwood, Gordon and I were sub-hosting as he was out of town. You learn facts and story of Central Park this, with a 4.6 run in there too!

Stats Time:

Finish time: 45:27 Average Pace: 7:19

Previous PR: 44:32 From: May, 2013

Age Grading: 69.63%

Overall Place: 343 of 3672

Gender Place: 43 of 1895

Age Place: 2 of 208

Another race this next weekend, the Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe (4M). Let’s do this!!!

Well, it turns out I totally forgot to post a November recap, AND ALSO, an October Recap… so I am going to keep it short and good. But it was a quite eventful 3 months. If I told you everything that happened since October, you would not believe me. You wouldn’t. The good, the bad, the just really unbelievable, so it was all and crazy and crammed and shockimg. All of it. 2017 needs to be a bit more relaxed. Please. It’s NOT looking that way though… stay with me, here we go!

December

I started the month in Italy!!! My husband, my parents and I spent two weeks travelling from north to south. It was glorious. I didn’t run one mile, had ALL THE FOOD and still came back in amazing shape. Italian food is magical. I have no idea how they do it; well, clean unprocessed food will do it, but it’s just ridiculous. Two weeks on vacation is INSANE these days, but so totally worth it. And needed. We got back to NYC mid December and, after three weeks of no running, on December 13, I looked at my log and I realized I was at 1406… so close to 1500!! My highest year ever I had done 1240 (and 1237 last year), so I already had my highest mileage ever, but why not go for 1500? I did 28 miles that first week back, and after 3 weeks off, 28 is a good way to ramp up! 44 miles the 19-25 week, and 30 this past last week…. It was hard to get the miles in the last week as everyone was out of town and I hate running alone, but when you have a goal, you get it done! I am also participating in a streak, December 21st to January 21st, which requires a mile every day, for Coach Stuart Calderwood’s 30th anniversary streak. The logistics are crazy but so far, so good! Oh, and did the Midnight Run on December 31st!!

Total Miles: 97 miles (between December 13th and 31st)

Races: one, though I wasn’t really racing…

Ups: Some runs alone were quite interesting. I’d also find myself running easy miles in sub 8 pace, which was completely weird but welcome. Most of the miles were super slow but I can see my endurance building with the higher mileage.

Downs: Running alone sucks but I did manage to get it done. The cold is here. ugh. The piles of laundry is scary.

Balance: AMAZING, 1502 MILES FOR THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! HELL YEAH!

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And some pictures from Italy, I promise I will do a post about it soon! (HAHAHA, “promise” and “soon”!!)

Downs: OMG, the Philly marathon that didn’t happen. There went all the training I did, nowhere!!!!

Balance: okay…

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October

October was wild. How did I manage such mileage? Well, I got some decent long runs, two halfs and apparently some ridiculous extra workouts. Both halfs were good but not what I expected. The Great Gallop turned out to be a hot/humid training run of sorts, and the Verrazano Half was a wind tunnel I was glad to survive. I was a bit disappointed to not have good weather in the Verrazano Half to PR, but oh well, can’t win them all. Then, the marathon madness swiped over us and took over my life. It was easy to forget all the racing!

Total Miles: 187, WHAT!??!?! MOST EVER BY A LOT

Races: 2 halves, no PR but good overall

Ups: Crazy fun runs and highest mileage ever

Downs: No great races so far this Fall. Oh well.

Balance: well, still have a marathon next month!

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September

is it really almost October ALREADY??? WHAT!

actually, this is more like it:

I am already dreading it ALREADY, though of course the running gets easier… On the other hand, I was finally adjusted to the heat. You know how it is…

September shocked me a bit. I ended up with 160 miles. Oooops.

I actually had the same reaction many Fridays or Saturdays when I had a race that weekend and realized and already had run way too many miles that week to be rested for the race. No idea how that happens!

This was probably my month with the highest mileage EVER. I say probably because I am too lazy to go check. Then I reply to myself, “what is the point of keeping track of EVERYTHING, if you are not going to use it to check on stuff?” And I just pretend I have to go to the bathroom and walk away offended. So, I am assuming there’s a 95% change this is my highest monthly mileage ever.

This month my routine was thrown off a LOT. I had a set-in-stone routine: Speedwork on Tuesdays (THE main workout); Easy or nothing on Mondays (Stairs workout for the last 4 months); November Project on Wednesdays; Easy or Tempo on Thursdays. Nothing Friday. Long or Race on the Weekend.

Then, I started coaching the NYRR Long Training Runs a few weeks ago, AT NIGHT. First of all, I hadn’t run after 7 am in AGES… 3, 4, 5 years maybe? I don’t even remember! Which is SO STRANGE. Adjusting to running at night is still a struggle. It feels weird waking up and not heading out. Do I shower? Do I just watch the news???? WHAT DO PEOPLE DO?!!?!?! Then, what’s the latest I can eat? One time, I forgot, had a snack at 3 pm and I was so uncomfortable during the workout (there’s always speed-work or some sort of speed component), I felt like I was going to throw up. Then, I get home past 8, which is usually my bed time… it’s weird to go to sleep so late, with food still in my throat, I’ve woken up early a few mornings after still full and gagging in my first few steps. There’s some major logistics mishaps that need straightening. On the other hand, SO much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do other women do about long sweaty hair when they run at night?????

I still need to figure out how to reinstate my own speedwork instead of just doing it with the group, but running twice on Tuesdays, speedwork twice in one day, seems crazy. Still fine-tuning this. Stay tuned!

Oh and I had a few races and did many fun this, but I am SURE you’ve read my previous posts anyway!

Total Miles: 160. Most ever. For Sure. Almost Sure. Not 100% sure but almost really sure.

Races:Two. The New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile and the Newport Liberty Half. I run both quite poorly to tell you the truth, now that I have the perspective.

Ups: Apparently something good was happening if I was clocking this many miles. 😉

Downs: Races and their tapering… ugh. Oh, and no PRs since MARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Balance: The more I race the more I get deflated about the no PRs since March’s United NYC Half thing. But we’ll get there when we get there, right?

Some pictures from the road:

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See you next Month for the next recap!

August

I can’t get over how now 70 degree weather feel like Autumn… it’s amazing how fast we get used to 90s or 10s around here…. I am already missing the high temperatures and dreading the winter, but ohboyohboyohboyhowfastwearegoingtoberunningsoon!!!

August was insane. I don’t know if I ever run 149 miles in one month and I am too lazy to look it up. I know that’s weekly mileage for some of you, but whatever, we all have our limits! I love sharing my training month once in a while because no one believes me I run this little/much or at this pace or whatever. And we’re all nosy, aren’t we? You’re welcome. So here’s the naked August truth:

I did 3 long runs, all in Summer Streets, one better than the last one. I felt great, fast and powerful, even with awful heat and humidity, go figure. I am still cross-training a lot more than usual, and I totally felt the difference in the long runs. The 4th week I was supposed to be off so I raced a 5K. I didn’t PR but I was 9 seconds away! It was hard, but I was just so happy with the race, the fun, and my negative splits! This past month was interesting as my gastroenterologist put me on a no-dairy, no-gluten, no-artificial sweeteners diet. Quite messy at first, because, is there anything left? But once the 16Handles cravings subsided, I got used to it. This past month was one of the funnest ever, and I am so happy I decided to sign up for a marathon: I found out I could rally the troops to have great long runs with great company and have been having the best time! September, and all is racing is just so close I can smell it!

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Total Miles: 149. Most ever? Let’s assume so!

Races: one!!!! Not a PR but a great effort! Still, that’s race 7 this year, I am waaay behind!

Ups: The miles flew by and have been getting in quality workouts with QUALITY PEOPLE!

Downs: Tapering for races annoys me. And the easy weeks. UGH. But I know they’re needed.

Balance: best month ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July

So, last month I finally STOPPED. I had been running crazy for years and never ocurred to me to rest. There. One week. Ugh. It was tough. I finally decided to maybe do another marathon this year, and scheduled a few halfs. I got on a groove with the stairs workouts and the cross training at November Project, so all seems to be going in the right direction. I’ll share my training for all July as I know you’re all curious, but there was nothing groundbreaking. Not even a lot of miles!

Total Miles: 109. Shit

Races: zero. ooops. forgot

Ups: LOTS of stairs and running and cross training. AND SWEATING.

Downs: the easy week!!!! I am scared about the marathon training plan I put together.

Balance: It’s great. Though I am a bit anxious about how this marathon season is going to play out.

June

did I forget to write about June??? I guess SO! Oooops, what a mess. Well, my parents were visiting for a month if that is a good excuse! It was BU-SY!

what happened in June..?? well, I we took my parents everywhere. a month is like, 4 weeks, so we had tons of time to do stuff, and they’d done all the touristy stuff all the other times, so this time we did local’s stuff stuff, you know? like they’d walk to Randall’s Island everyday, or go to the GW, or go to November Project, or volunteer at a water table (for the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge). fun part is this is the first year in like 15 years, that my parents and I spend my birthday and my dad’s bday and father’s day in the same place! So cool right? Little things you get used to not having… oh well. We did do a couple of touristy things, like the Freedom Tour Observatory (meh), the NY Philarmonic in Central Park, and the Intrepid. But it stops there! Juan had a half Ironman so we went to Maryland or somewhere for the weekend. He did amazing. But he has been training like a maniac, twice a day, hours and hours in the indoor trainer, so I was happy he could get some good results! Me? I’ve been running and workout as usual. I finally managed to make cross-training part of my routine, which I talked about here, and I am SO excited about it!

Ups: LOTS of running and cross training. And we starting doing stairs workouts. AND IT’S HOT OUT

Downs: that this weather can’t last forever??? nothing!

Balance: I feel amazing. As fit as I’ve ever been. I have no interest in racing because I don’t want to taper. I just want to train and train and train!!!! that’s crazy right?

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May

Flowers Month started with the NJ Half, which now seems like aaaaages ago. Maybe because I did the Brooklyn Half and that also seems like aaaaaages ago!!! Well, it was only 10 days ago. Wow, I am aging fast! New Jersey was a meh race, I got bored, my heart rate was spiking and I wasn’t even sure why, missed a PR by 20 something seconds. I spent the whole month trying to lower it and find the culprit. Then I did the Newport 10K, which was fun but super hot so I missed a PR by a whole minute. A minute in a 10K is like a minute waiting for your Shake Shack buzzer to go off: e-t-e-r-n-i-t-yyyyy. A week later, and still tired, was the Brooklyn Half. I knew I didn’t have it so took it easy there and had a great fun (though slow) race. Best decision evah. Why try when you can just give up? 😉 Overall, I had a fun month, I did a million workouts and runs with lots of friends, I went out a lot, I looked for many races to do as soon as I recovered from Brooklyn then was happy that I didn’t sign up for anything, as it’s SO HOT out. Speedwork Tuesday was not just hot, it was HUMID and awful. Need to make sure I adjust to this crap ASAP. If you need a read on how to adjust to the heat and a lesson on how to over-hydrate, check this (skip to the bottom if you’re not into sciency/nerdy stuff). And you better be ready for the summer runs/racing. It’s happening whether you like it or not! What’s happening in June…? I’d like to say I have x race and x race but…. I do have a bunch of races in my calendar, but nothing I am 100% on. I think I need a liiiiiitle break from racing. Usually in May/June I have a race every weekend, sometimes 3 races in a week! I am just going to go with my heart this time, and see where the wind blows!

Ups: solid workouts, not just running, all sorts of stuff. I went up LOTs of stairs and bridges too.

Downs: my races sorta sucked. BK was fun but nothing fast.

Balance: Still in building mode for the Fall, I guess?. And having fun with it. May was fun but not the usual May where I score a bunch of awesome PRs! Oh well. Healthy and Fun wins over FAST. Actually, looking at the pictures in the slideshow, I have proof that I had all sorts of fun!

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April

I am ready… feeling ready to say hello to May and a NEW HALF PR, whether that’s New Jersey (May 1, this Sunday!!!!!) or the Brooklyn Half, well, that… I still don’t know, but I’ll be trying at both. Or I’ll be trying at NJ this weekend and then we’ll see about the other one!

I did one fun race in April, the Run for the Parks 4Miler, that went a bit (12 seconds) too slow and two IronStrength workouts that zapped my legs. Like OUCH. Or more like this feels worse that my first marathon (walking backwards downstairs and all). I also did a lot of coaching, I went to cheer on my athletes, team, and friends at the Boston Marathon, and last week I participated the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay. A busy month at work, lots of coaching, and quality runs. Plus some cross-training, which you know I hate! I am getting over it though, I think, we’ll see.

Ups: I got back on the horse about the #!*$! cross-training with some November Project and some Ironstrength. Each time I was out for days. I am not built for burpees. at all.

Downs: same as above, cross-training kills me. I’d do it and then not be able to walk normally or run for days!!!! And… where did my mileage go? Even last Saturday I tried to run (3 days past Ironstrength!!) and I couldn’t, UGH.

Balance: Building, building, waiting for my chance to ATTACK. Stay tuned. May should be my chance!

Good news: not to be braggy but I noticed how all my races lately have been over 70% Age Grading, which had always been my goal. So, happy (very happy) about that. Also noticed, that I have no need to do the 9+1 now as I qualify for the marathon (with my NYC Half time) , if I ever decided to do it. Whaaaaat? yeah, it’s a bit braggy but hey, it took YEARS! And lots and lots of sweat and early mornings!

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March

Ah it was a roller coaster!!!!! It was cold, it was hot, it was cold, you get it. I did some amazing workouts, some confidence-boosters, and lots of junk miles. It took a bit to psych myself up that I could do a sub 1:37 half. I did it. And then, the same day, I left for Argentina for two weeks, so it’s like it almost didn’t happen (it was funny when I got back home last week and my apartment looked like I just had done the half: pace bracelet, Gatorade, extra layers, mylar blanket, and stuff everywhere!!!). Remind me not to do that again! I barely run when in Argentina; maybe about 30 miles in two weeks. But had such a relaxing time!

Downs: where did my mileage go? I had no interest in running while I was on vacation. Or workout. Or anything, as usual.

Balance: Overall good. I still need to figure out a thing or two about the half, and how to drink while running and why I sometimes, after a hard effort, have no interest in any of it, but overall good.

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February

confirmed that this would be the most confusing and best winter ever. One day you have low temperature records and the next day you’re in shorts. A Blizzard, then 60 degrees. Still a lot better than just straight out freezing for the whole month (like last year). Somehow, I have still been able to train a lot this month, which is strange as I haven’t really taken a break since last March… So weird. I did quite good mileage, once short race, 6 interval workouts, three runs over 15 miles, ooops no tempo! Forgot about the tempo. Though I should probably count every time I run with Patricia as a tempo!!! 76% of my miles were on the briddle path, maybe that’s why I have been able to do all this mileage?

Ups: the weather was awesome for February. Lots of miles. Lots of fast miles! I love that we’re back in the briddle path for the speedwork!! Got a lot of new Under Armour gear and shoes. Managed to survive a long run with Patricia.

Downs: I am tired and we are 2.5 weeks from the NYC Half: I am starting to get nervous!

Balance: Great, ready to pounce!!

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January

was a solid month. I got 132 miles… how? Apparently I started doing longish runs again without noticing!!! I got five of them in the log: 12.5, 12.5, 15, 11, and 15.5, not sure what distance is “long” anymore but I guess if I am training for a half, anything over 8 miles is LONG. Right? Anyone knows?

I also did 5 speedwork sessions: Mile Repeats, 6x400s + 3x800s, 5x1K, 5 Cath Hill Sprints, and 6x800s. Plus a stoopid-hard workout at Orange Theory I had no idea how to include in my spreadsheet 😛

Weather has been ok so far, nothing like last year. We did have a rough day, when it was 17 (feels like 5) and we were doing intervals. It was BRUTAL. but you know, those are the days you go out because after that 20s and 30s feel like Summer. We had a little blizzard (22 inches of snow in 1 day) but I was able to run the day before and the day after so no biggie. And the briddle path was back in just 10 days!

I have now 6 weeks to the United NYC Half Marathon and I am super pumped. I need a Half PR this year guys, it’s been 3 years! I am desperate. I also signed up for the New Jersey Half. Oh, and Brooklyn Half too. It’s coming. I promise. I can see it. I can almost taste it! I am sure it tastes like unicorns, and victory and clouds, and sunny and yes, pizza from Rome.

Total Miles: 132.

Races: Zero (unless you count the times I need to race to be on time to meet running friends!)

Ups: the weather is not 100% miserable. Lots of consistent training and cross training.

hey hey friends! This isn’t going to be much of a race report as I didn’t really race Grete’s Great Gallop (a half marathon if you’re not from NYC!). I wasn’t sure what do make of the race, as I wasn’t tapered to race it fully so I checked with Martina what she had planned for race day. She said she’d be doing 12 miles at Marathon Goal Pace (about 7:35 for her, I think I am closer to 7:45 but how do we know MGP until Race Day, huh???) and a total of 20. That seemed like a good plan to me, and at least I’d have company!

My A goal for this race was to test out another fueling strategy. Goal B was to have a good workout. Goal C would be to have a good time…

Thinking back, two loops of Central Park at MGP doesn’t seem like a good plan. It hurt. I was almost hoping I was doing the Tune Up, as that’s an easier pace to hold in the park for THAT LONG. But anyway, goals A, B, and C achieved and more! Let me tell you.

I started doing some major research on fueling on Wednesday. I spent 4 hours on this guys! I hadn’t had a good race where my stomach held out. Basically, I either run out of energy because I am avoiding putting stuff on my stomach, OR, I get stomach cramps for about 5 to 10 minutes anytime I put a gel or Gatorade on it. I can handle water, but not a lot. It’s a catch 22 really.

According to my gastroenterologist, I can’t handle anything with sweeteners on it (Acesulfame Potassium is everywhere guys!) ever, and gliadin (in gluten!) while I am running (which is also everywhere!). So, from that I moved onto finding out that I don’t do well with the maltodextrin/fructose combo (aka: most gels…). Anyway, if you want to read more, this is a good start about fueling with fats, but I made a list of things I should try and my plan for Sunday was:

Pre Race: 2 cups of white rice, with coconut oil, and salt. Water.

Race: 1 gel and LOTs of water

Gels I wanted to try out:

Huma

Vega

Pocket Fuel

Glukos Energy

in that order. The gel situation is complicated though, because there’s a lot of things about my stomach I still don’t understand so I have to avoid LOTS of things that might not even be a problem (like honey for example).

So, Sunday morning, I had the rice, but only 1 cup because 2 seemed like too much and I wasn’t hungry and apparently I am into boycotting my own plans… I was so not stressed out that I forgot to put my bib on and run out. Had to come back. Then, I run the 2 miles to the start. Yey, 2 miles in already.

I was supposed to meet Martina in the B corral and she wasn’t there… even though I was the first person in the corral! I waited and then the start… UGH. I figured she’d be catching up (or coming with the 1:40 pacer, 7:37 pace) soon so I took it as easy as I could in the first mile and kept my eye out for her. About a mile in, she caught up! Phew. I was running at 8:00 and already felt uncomfortable. Why is marathon pace SO uncomfortable??? It’s not SUPER EASY pace, but it’s not ALL OUT either… Plus, mentally, it’s a lot of work to balance in that middle ground. UGH. These workouts are HARD! Oh, add the Central Park course to the mix… by the time she got to me I was already sick of it!

Mile 1: 7:51 But I had Martina!!!!! Friends are always the super powers you need in a race. Aren’t they?

So we started trying to pace ourselves around 7:40. Which wasn’t so easy. But we kept ourselves entertained. Plus, I saw Juan about 1.5 in yelling!

Photo Credit: my husband, the tallest man on earth

We kept trucking and right before Engineers Gate I see Carolina cheering and taking more pictures. How could we get bored??? Mile 2: 7:50

Photo Credit: Carolina Pena. The guy in red is just amazing.

Right after, the 1:40 pacing group catches up with us, and Stephen tells us we’re chatting up too much! Ha. We let them go! Mile 3: 7:33

There’s to letting pacers go… Up Harlem Hill at Mile 4: 7:48 So crazy to have to do this twice in a race! Somehow our pace wasn’t as awful as it felt. Mile 5: 7:49

Right around here we had built a little pace group of our own, with this guy Tony, in orange below, the girl in the blue shirt next to him, and this guy Jeff, who’s right behind us in this picture, from GNY. So much fun to run in a group!

hey hey look at me! By then Carolina and Juan had joined forces cheering!

The Lower Loop of the park always gets to me, there’s so many turns… I don’t know but I don’t like it there (basically mile 1 and 7). Mile 6: 7:33 But we were doing fine. We were getting tired, but you know, pace was fine.

Mile 7: 7:35 I had told Martina, we could take the first loop easy and reassess after the second Harlem Hill, so I was saving a bit for the end as usual. Then we go up Cat Hill, which was ROUGH for me Mile 8: 7:51 as you can see in the pace! But the next one is the easiest stretch so we take it easy there! Mile 9: 7:33 Martina wasn’t feeling well so she said she was going to slow down up Harlem Hill, the Sequel. We did. I was obviously happy to take it easy up the hill. Though, as in any hill, everyone would take off and I’d be left breathing like a crazy person ways back!!! Mile 10: 8:11 Then, I started to feel my legs getting super stiff. I knew I needed the %^[email protected]#@$ fuel. What to do, what to do?? I am just so scared these days, I rather fall apart slowly because I have no energy, than cramp up and have the pain for a mile.

But the point of this “training run” was to test out my fueling!!!! So I manned up, had the Huma, STOPPED for water for about 10 seconds or whatever, and dealt with it. I figured, if it didn’t help, it’s not like I cared much about my finish time. And what was I waiting for to try it? It’s not like I can try it in a long run at 9: 30 pace!!!! Mile 11: 8:00

I actually felt better instantly…. I had to rush to catch back up to Martina, she was like 30 seconds ahead (because I stopped for the water!). I pushed and pushed and got there. And when I got there… I sort of kept going… Oooops. I felt bad. But my legs wanted to move!!

Mile 12: 7:25 and Mile 13: 7:35

Right before the finish. Photo Credit: Steve Mura

Point 1: 7:16 pace

I was done! average pace was 7:44. I wish it could have been a bit more even but between the hills and the stomach things, I had a hard time focusing this time around. I waited for Martina and the rest of the little 2nd loop group by the finish and we caught with a few team mates at the finish too.

Young (in the middle) had a 1:34 PR. We met DURING this race a few years ago (so Sat was probably our runniversary!), and we run it together. We also run the second half of the NYC Half this year together.

I am already dreading it ALREADY, though of course the running gets easier… On the other hand, I was finally adjusted to the heat. You know how it is…

September shocked me a bit. I ended up with 160 miles. Oooops.

I actually had the same reaction many Fridays or Saturdays when I had a race that weekend and realized and already had run way too many miles that week to be rested for the race. No idea how that happens!

This was probably my month with the highest mileage EVER. I say probably because I am too lazy to go check. Then I reply to myself, “what is the point of keeping track of EVERYTHING, if you are not going to use it to check on stuff?” And I just pretend I have to go to the bathroom and walk away offended. So, I am assuming there’s a 95% change this is my highest monthly mileage ever.

This month my routine was thrown off a LOT. I had a set-in-stone routine: Speedwork on Tuesdays (THE main workout); Easy or nothing on Mondays (Stairs workout for the last 4 months); November Project on Wednesdays; Easy or Tempo on Thursdays. Nothing Friday. Long or Race on the Weekend.

Then, I started coaching the NYRR Long Training Runs a few weeks ago, AT NIGHT. First of all, I hadn’t run after 7 am in AGES… 3, 4, 5 years maybe? I don’t even remember! Which is SO STRANGE. Adjusting to running at night is still a struggle. It feels weird waking up and not heading out. Do I shower? Do I just watch the news???? WHAT DO PEOPLE DO?!!?!?! Then, what’s the latest I can eat? One time, I forgot, had a snack at 3 pm and I was so uncomfortable during the workout (there’s always speed-work or some sort of speed component), I felt like I was going to throw up. Then, I get home past 8, which is usually my bed time… it’s weird to go to sleep so late, with food still in my throat, I’ve woken up early a few mornings after still full and gagging in my first few steps. There’s some major logistics mishaps that need straightening. On the other hand, SO much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do other women do about long sweaty hair when they run at night?????

I still need to figure out how to reinstate my own speedwork instead of just doing it with the group, but running twice on Tuesdays, speedwork twice in one day, seems crazy. Still fine-tuning this. Stay tuned!

Oh and I had a few races and did many fun this, but I am SURE you’ve read my previous posts anyway!

Total Miles: 160. Most ever. For Sure. Almost Sure. Not 100% sure but almost really sure.

Races:Two. The New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile and the Newport Liberty Half. I run both quite poorly to tell you the truth, now that I have the perspective.

Ups: Apparently something good was happening if I was clocking this many miles. 😉

Downs: Races and their tapering… ugh. Oh, and no PRs since MARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Balance: The more I race the more I get deflated about the no PRs since March’s United NYC Half thing. But we’ll get there when we get there, right?

Some pictures from the road:

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See you next Month for the next recap!

August

I can’t get over how now 70 degree weather feel like Autumn… it’s amazing how fast we get used to 90s or 10s around here…. I am already missing the high temperatures and dreading the winter, but ohboyohboyohboyhowfastwearegoingtoberunningsoon!!!

August was insane. I don’t know if I ever run 149 miles in one month and I am too lazy to look it up. I know that’s weekly mileage for some of you, but whatever, we all have our limits! I love sharing my training month once in a while because no one believes me I run this little/much or at this pace or whatever. And we’re all nosy, aren’t we? You’re welcome. So here’s the naked August truth:

I did 3 long runs, all in Summer Streets, one better than the last one. I felt great, fast and powerful, even with awful heat and humidity, go figure. I am still cross-training a lot more than usual, and I totally felt the difference in the long runs. The 4th week I was supposed to be off so I raced a 5K. I didn’t PR but I was 9 seconds away! It was hard, but I was just so happy with the race, the fun, and my negative splits! This past month was interesting as my gastroenterologist put me on a no-dairy, no-gluten, no-artificial sweeteners diet. Quite messy at first, because, is there anything left? But once the 16Handles cravings subsided, I got used to it. This past month was one of the funnest ever, and I am so happy I decided to sign up for a marathon: I found out I could rally the troops to have great long runs with great company and have been having the best time! September, and all is racing is just so close I can smell it!

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Total Miles: 149. Most ever? Let’s assume so!

Races: one!!!! Not a PR but a great effort! Still, that’s race 7 this year, I am waaay behind!

Ups: The miles flew by and have been getting in quality workouts with QUALITY PEOPLE!

Downs: Tapering for races annoys me. And the easy weeks. UGH. But I know they’re needed.

Balance: best month ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July

So, last month I finally STOPPED. I had been running crazy for years and never ocurred to me to rest. There. One week. Ugh. It was tough. I finally decided to maybe do another marathon this year, and scheduled a few halfs. I got on a groove with the stairs workouts and the cross training at November Project, so all seems to be going in the right direction. I’ll share my training for all July as I know you’re all curious, but there was nothing groundbreaking. Not even a lot of miles!

Total Miles: 109. Shit

Races: zero. ooops. forgot

Ups: LOTS of stairs and running and cross training. AND SWEATING.

Downs: the easy week!!!! I am scared about the marathon training plan I put together.

Balance: It’s great. Though I am a bit anxious about how this marathon season is going to play out.

June

did I forget to write about June??? I guess SO! Oooops, what a mess. Well, my parents were visiting for a month if that is a good excuse! It was BU-SY!

what happened in June..?? well, I we took my parents everywhere. a month is like, 4 weeks, so we had tons of time to do stuff, and they’d done all the touristy stuff all the other times, so this time we did local’s stuff stuff, you know? like they’d walk to Randall’s Island everyday, or go to the GW, or go to November Project, or volunteer at a water table (for the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge). fun part is this is the first year in like 15 years, that my parents and I spend my birthday and my dad’s bday and father’s day in the same place! So cool right? Little things you get used to not having… oh well. We did do a couple of touristy things, like the Freedom Tour Observatory (meh), the NY Philarmonic in Central Park, and the Intrepid. But it stops there! Juan had a half Ironman so we went to Maryland or somewhere for the weekend. He did amazing. But he has been training like a maniac, twice a day, hours and hours in the indoor trainer, so I was happy he could get some good results! Me? I’ve been running and workout as usual. I finally managed to make cross-training part of my routine, which I talked about here, and I am SO excited about it!

Ups: LOTS of running and cross training. And we starting doing stairs workouts. AND IT’S HOT OUT

Downs: that this weather can’t last forever??? nothing!

Balance: I feel amazing. As fit as I’ve ever been. I have no interest in racing because I don’t want to taper. I just want to train and train and train!!!! that’s crazy right?

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May

Flowers Month started with the NJ Half, which now seems like aaaaages ago. Maybe because I did the Brooklyn Half and that also seems like aaaaaages ago!!! Well, it was only 10 days ago. Wow, I am aging fast! New Jersey was a meh race, I got bored, my heart rate was spiking and I wasn’t even sure why, missed a PR by 20 something seconds. I spent the whole month trying to lower it and find the culprit. Then I did the Newport 10K, which was fun but super hot so I missed a PR by a whole minute. A minute in a 10K is like a minute waiting for your Shake Shack buzzer to go off: e-t-e-r-n-i-t-yyyyy. A week later, and still tired, was the Brooklyn Half. I knew I didn’t have it so took it easy there and had a great fun (though slow) race. Best decision evah. Why try when you can just give up? 😉 Overall, I had a fun month, I did a million workouts and runs with lots of friends, I went out a lot, I looked for many races to do as soon as I recovered from Brooklyn then was happy that I didn’t sign up for anything, as it’s SO HOT out. Speedwork Tuesday was not just hot, it was HUMID and awful. Need to make sure I adjust to this crap ASAP. If you need a read on how to adjust to the heat and a lesson on how to over-hydrate, check this (skip to the bottom if you’re not into sciency/nerdy stuff). And you better be ready for the summer runs/racing. It’s happening whether you like it or not! What’s happening in June…? I’d like to say I have x race and x race but…. I do have a bunch of races in my calendar, but nothing I am 100% on. I think I need a liiiiiitle break from racing. Usually in May/June I have a race every weekend, sometimes 3 races in a week! I am just going to go with my heart this time, and see where the wind blows!

Ups: solid workouts, not just running, all sorts of stuff. I went up LOTs of stairs and bridges too.

Downs: my races sorta sucked. BK was fun but nothing fast.

Balance: Still in building mode for the Fall, I guess?. And having fun with it. May was fun but not the usual May where I score a bunch of awesome PRs! Oh well. Healthy and Fun wins over FAST. Actually, looking at the pictures in the slideshow, I have proof that I had all sorts of fun!

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April

I am ready… feeling ready to say hello to May and a NEW HALF PR, whether that’s New Jersey (May 1, this Sunday!!!!!) or the Brooklyn Half, well, that… I still don’t know, but I’ll be trying at both. Or I’ll be trying at NJ this weekend and then we’ll see about the other one!

I did one fun race in April, the Run for the Parks 4Miler, that went a bit (12 seconds) too slow and two IronStrength workouts that zapped my legs. Like OUCH. Or more like this feels worse that my first marathon (walking backwards downstairs and all). I also did a lot of coaching, I went to cheer on my athletes, team, and friends at the Boston Marathon, and last week I participated the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay. A busy month at work, lots of coaching, and quality runs. Plus some cross-training, which you know I hate! I am getting over it though, I think, we’ll see.

Ups: I got back on the horse about the #!*$! cross-training with some November Project and some Ironstrength. Each time I was out for days. I am not built for burpees. at all.

Downs: same as above, cross-training kills me. I’d do it and then not be able to walk normally or run for days!!!! And… where did my mileage go? Even last Saturday I tried to run (3 days past Ironstrength!!) and I couldn’t, UGH.

Balance: Building, building, waiting for my chance to ATTACK. Stay tuned. May should be my chance!

Good news: not to be braggy but I noticed how all my races lately have been over 70% Age Grading, which had always been my goal. So, happy (very happy) about that. Also noticed, that I have no need to do the 9+1 now as I qualify for the marathon (with my NYC Half time) , if I ever decided to do it. Whaaaaat? yeah, it’s a bit braggy but hey, it took YEARS! And lots and lots of sweat and early mornings!

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March

Ah it was a roller coaster!!!!! It was cold, it was hot, it was cold, you get it. I did some amazing workouts, some confidence-boosters, and lots of junk miles. It took a bit to psych myself up that I could do a sub 1:37 half. I did it. And then, the same day, I left for Argentina for two weeks, so it’s like it almost didn’t happen (it was funny when I got back home last week and my apartment looked like I just had done the half: pace bracelet, Gatorade, extra layers, mylar blanket, and stuff everywhere!!!). Remind me not to do that again! I barely run when in Argentina; maybe about 30 miles in two weeks. But had such a relaxing time!

Downs: where did my mileage go? I had no interest in running while I was on vacation. Or workout. Or anything, as usual.

Balance: Overall good. I still need to figure out a thing or two about the half, and how to drink while running and why I sometimes, after a hard effort, have no interest in any of it, but overall good.

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February

confirmed that this would be the most confusing and best winter ever. One day you have low temperature records and the next day you’re in shorts. A Blizzard, then 60 degrees. Still a lot better than just straight out freezing for the whole month (like last year). Somehow, I have still been able to train a lot this month, which is strange as I haven’t really taken a break since last March… So weird. I did quite good mileage, once short race, 6 interval workouts, three runs over 15 miles, ooops no tempo! Forgot about the tempo. Though I should probably count every time I run with Patricia as a tempo!!! 76% of my miles were on the briddle path, maybe that’s why I have been able to do all this mileage?

Ups: the weather was awesome for February. Lots of miles. Lots of fast miles! I love that we’re back in the briddle path for the speedwork!! Got a lot of new Under Armour gear and shoes. Managed to survive a long run with Patricia.

Downs: I am tired and we are 2.5 weeks from the NYC Half: I am starting to get nervous!

Balance: Great, ready to pounce!!

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January

was a solid month. I got 132 miles… how? Apparently I started doing longish runs again without noticing!!! I got five of them in the log: 12.5, 12.5, 15, 11, and 15.5, not sure what distance is “long” anymore but I guess if I am training for a half, anything over 8 miles is LONG. Right? Anyone knows?

I also did 5 speedwork sessions: Mile Repeats, 6x400s + 3x800s, 5x1K, 5 Cath Hill Sprints, and 6x800s. Plus a stoopid-hard workout at Orange Theory I had no idea how to include in my spreadsheet 😛

Weather has been ok so far, nothing like last year. We did have a rough day, when it was 17 (feels like 5) and we were doing intervals. It was BRUTAL. but you know, those are the days you go out because after that 20s and 30s feel like Summer. We had a little blizzard (22 inches of snow in 1 day) but I was able to run the day before and the day after so no biggie. And the briddle path was back in just 10 days!

I have now 6 weeks to the United NYC Half Marathon and I am super pumped. I need a Half PR this year guys, it’s been 3 years! I am desperate. I also signed up for the New Jersey Half. Oh, and Brooklyn Half too. It’s coming. I promise. I can see it. I can almost taste it! I am sure it tastes like unicorns, and victory and clouds, and sunny and yes, pizza from Rome.

Total Miles: 132.

Races: Zero (unless you count the times I need to race to be on time to meet running friends!)

Ups: the weather is not 100% miserable. Lots of consistent training and cross training.

August

I can’t get over how now 70 degree weather feel like Autumn… it’s amazing how fast we get used to 90s or 10s around here…. I am already missing the high temperatures and dreading the winter, but ohboyohboyohboyhowfastwearegoingtoberunningsoon!!!

August was insane. I don’t know if I ever run 149 miles in one month and I am too lazy to look it up. I know that’s weekly mileage for some of you, but whatever, we all have our limits! I love sharing my training month once in a while because no one believes me I run this little/much or at this pace or whatever. And we’re all nosy, aren’t we? You’re welcome. So here’s the naked August truth:

I did 3 long runs, all in Summer Streets, one better than the last one. I felt great, fast and powerful, even with awful heat and humidity, go figure. I am still cross-training a lot more than usual, and I totally felt the difference in the long runs. The 4th week I was supposed to be off so I raced a 5K. I didn’t PR but I was 9 seconds away! It was hard, but I was just so happy with the race, the fun, and my negative splits! This past month was interesting as my gastroenterologist put me on a no-dairy, no-gluten, no-artificial sweeteners diet. Quite messy at first, because, is there anything left? But once the 16Handles cravings subsided, I got used to it. This past month was one of the funnest ever, and I am so happy I decided to sign up for a marathon: I found out I could rally the troops to have great long runs with great company and have been having the best time! September, and all is racing is just so close I can smell it!

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Total Miles: 149. Most ever? Let’s assume so!

Races: one!!!! Not a PR but a great effort! Still, that’s race 7 this year, I am waaay behind!

Ups: The miles flew by and have been getting in quality workouts with QUALITY PEOPLE!

Downs: Tapering for races annoys me. And the easy weeks. UGH. But I know they’re needed.

Balance: best month ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July

So, last month I finally STOPPED. I had been running crazy for years and never ocurred to me to rest. There. One week. Ugh. It was tough. I finally decided to maybe do another marathon this year, and scheduled a few halfs. I got on a groove with the stairs workouts and the cross training at November Project, so all seems to be going in the right direction. I’ll share my training for all July as I know you’re all curious, but there was nothing groundbreaking. Not even a lot of miles!

Total Miles: 109. Shit

Races: zero. ooops. forgot

Ups: LOTS of stairs and running and cross training. AND SWEATING.

Downs: the easy week!!!! I am scared about the marathon training plan I put together.

Balance: It’s great. Though I am a bit anxious about how this marathon season is going to play out.

June

did I forget to write about June??? I guess SO! Oooops, what a mess. Well, my parents were visiting for a month if that is a good excuse! It was BU-SY!

what happened in June..?? well, I we took my parents everywhere. a month is like, 4 weeks, so we had tons of time to do stuff, and they’d done all the touristy stuff all the other times, so this time we did local’s stuff stuff, you know? like they’d walk to Randall’s Island everyday, or go to the GW, or go to November Project, or volunteer at a water table (for the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge). fun part is this is the first year in like 15 years, that my parents and I spend my birthday and my dad’s bday and father’s day in the same place! So cool right? Little things you get used to not having… oh well. We did do a couple of touristy things, like the Freedom Tour Observatory (meh), the NY Philarmonic in Central Park, and the Intrepid. But it stops there! Juan had a half Ironman so we went to Maryland or somewhere for the weekend. He did amazing. But he has been training like a maniac, twice a day, hours and hours in the indoor trainer, so I was happy he could get some good results! Me? I’ve been running and workout as usual. I finally managed to make cross-training part of my routine, which I talked about here, and I am SO excited about it!

Ups: LOTS of running and cross training. And we starting doing stairs workouts. AND IT’S HOT OUT

Downs: that this weather can’t last forever??? nothing!

Balance: I feel amazing. As fit as I’ve ever been. I have no interest in racing because I don’t want to taper. I just want to train and train and train!!!! that’s crazy right?

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May

Flowers Month started with the NJ Half, which now seems like aaaaages ago. Maybe because I did the Brooklyn Half and that also seems like aaaaaages ago!!! Well, it was only 10 days ago. Wow, I am aging fast! New Jersey was a meh race, I got bored, my heart rate was spiking and I wasn’t even sure why, missed a PR by 20 something seconds. I spent the whole month trying to lower it and find the culprit. Then I did the Newport 10K, which was fun but super hot so I missed a PR by a whole minute. A minute in a 10K is like a minute waiting for your Shake Shack buzzer to go off: e-t-e-r-n-i-t-yyyyy. A week later, and still tired, was the Brooklyn Half. I knew I didn’t have it so took it easy there and had a great fun (though slow) race. Best decision evah. Why try when you can just give up? 😉 Overall, I had a fun month, I did a million workouts and runs with lots of friends, I went out a lot, I looked for many races to do as soon as I recovered from Brooklyn then was happy that I didn’t sign up for anything, as it’s SO HOT out. Speedwork Tuesday was not just hot, it was HUMID and awful. Need to make sure I adjust to this crap ASAP. If you need a read on how to adjust to the heat and a lesson on how to over-hydrate, check this (skip to the bottom if you’re not into sciency/nerdy stuff). And you better be ready for the summer runs/racing. It’s happening whether you like it or not! What’s happening in June…? I’d like to say I have x race and x race but…. I do have a bunch of races in my calendar, but nothing I am 100% on. I think I need a liiiiiitle break from racing. Usually in May/June I have a race every weekend, sometimes 3 races in a week! I am just going to go with my heart this time, and see where the wind blows!

Ups: solid workouts, not just running, all sorts of stuff. I went up LOTs of stairs and bridges too.

Downs: my races sorta sucked. BK was fun but nothing fast.

Balance: Still in building mode for the Fall, I guess?. And having fun with it. May was fun but not the usual May where I score a bunch of awesome PRs! Oh well. Healthy and Fun wins over FAST. Actually, looking at the pictures in the slideshow, I have proof that I had all sorts of fun!

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April

I am ready… feeling ready to say hello to May and a NEW HALF PR, whether that’s New Jersey (May 1, this Sunday!!!!!) or the Brooklyn Half, well, that… I still don’t know, but I’ll be trying at both. Or I’ll be trying at NJ this weekend and then we’ll see about the other one!

I did one fun race in April, the Run for the Parks 4Miler, that went a bit (12 seconds) too slow and two IronStrength workouts that zapped my legs. Like OUCH. Or more like this feels worse that my first marathon (walking backwards downstairs and all). I also did a lot of coaching, I went to cheer on my athletes, team, and friends at the Boston Marathon, and last week I participated the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay. A busy month at work, lots of coaching, and quality runs. Plus some cross-training, which you know I hate! I am getting over it though, I think, we’ll see.

Ups: I got back on the horse about the #!*$! cross-training with some November Project and some Ironstrength. Each time I was out for days. I am not built for burpees. at all.

Downs: same as above, cross-training kills me. I’d do it and then not be able to walk normally or run for days!!!! And… where did my mileage go? Even last Saturday I tried to run (3 days past Ironstrength!!) and I couldn’t, UGH.

Balance: Building, building, waiting for my chance to ATTACK. Stay tuned. May should be my chance!

Good news: not to be braggy but I noticed how all my races lately have been over 70% Age Grading, which had always been my goal. So, happy (very happy) about that. Also noticed, that I have no need to do the 9+1 now as I qualify for the marathon (with my NYC Half time) , if I ever decided to do it. Whaaaaat? yeah, it’s a bit braggy but hey, it took YEARS! And lots and lots of sweat and early mornings!

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March

Ah it was a roller coaster!!!!! It was cold, it was hot, it was cold, you get it. I did some amazing workouts, some confidence-boosters, and lots of junk miles. It took a bit to psych myself up that I could do a sub 1:37 half. I did it. And then, the same day, I left for Argentina for two weeks, so it’s like it almost didn’t happen (it was funny when I got back home last week and my apartment looked like I just had done the half: pace bracelet, Gatorade, extra layers, mylar blanket, and stuff everywhere!!!). Remind me not to do that again! I barely run when in Argentina; maybe about 30 miles in two weeks. But had such a relaxing time!

Downs: where did my mileage go? I had no interest in running while I was on vacation. Or workout. Or anything, as usual.

Balance: Overall good. I still need to figure out a thing or two about the half, and how to drink while running and why I sometimes, after a hard effort, have no interest in any of it, but overall good.

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February

confirmed that this would be the most confusing and best winter ever. One day you have low temperature records and the next day you’re in shorts. A Blizzard, then 60 degrees. Still a lot better than just straight out freezing for the whole month (like last year). Somehow, I have still been able to train a lot this month, which is strange as I haven’t really taken a break since last March… So weird. I did quite good mileage, once short race, 6 interval workouts, three runs over 15 miles, ooops no tempo! Forgot about the tempo. Though I should probably count every time I run with Patricia as a tempo!!! 76% of my miles were on the briddle path, maybe that’s why I have been able to do all this mileage?

Ups: the weather was awesome for February. Lots of miles. Lots of fast miles! I love that we’re back in the briddle path for the speedwork!! Got a lot of new Under Armour gear and shoes. Managed to survive a long run with Patricia.

Downs: I am tired and we are 2.5 weeks from the NYC Half: I am starting to get nervous!

Balance: Great, ready to pounce!!

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January

was a solid month. I got 132 miles… how? Apparently I started doing longish runs again without noticing!!! I got five of them in the log: 12.5, 12.5, 15, 11, and 15.5, not sure what distance is “long” anymore but I guess if I am training for a half, anything over 8 miles is LONG. Right? Anyone knows?

I also did 5 speedwork sessions: Mile Repeats, 6x400s + 3x800s, 5x1K, 5 Cath Hill Sprints, and 6x800s. Plus a stoopid-hard workout at Orange Theory I had no idea how to include in my spreadsheet 😛

Weather has been ok so far, nothing like last year. We did have a rough day, when it was 17 (feels like 5) and we were doing intervals. It was BRUTAL. but you know, those are the days you go out because after that 20s and 30s feel like Summer. We had a little blizzard (22 inches of snow in 1 day) but I was able to run the day before and the day after so no biggie. And the briddle path was back in just 10 days!

I have now 6 weeks to the United NYC Half Marathon and I am super pumped. I need a Half PR this year guys, it’s been 3 years! I am desperate. I also signed up for the New Jersey Half. Oh, and Brooklyn Half too. It’s coming. I promise. I can see it. I can almost taste it! I am sure it tastes like unicorns, and victory and clouds, and sunny and yes, pizza from Rome.

Total Miles: 132.

Races: Zero (unless you count the times I need to race to be on time to meet running friends!)

Ups: the weather is not 100% miserable. Lots of consistent training and cross training.

July

So, last month I finally STOPPED. I had been running crazy for years and never ocurred to me to rest. There. One week. Ugh. It was tough. I finally decided to maybe do another marathon this year, and scheduled a few halfs. I got on a groove with the stairs workouts and the cross training at November Project, so all seems to be going in the right direction. I’ll share my training for all July as I know you’re all curious, but there was nothing groundbreaking. Not even a lot of miles!

Total Miles: 109. Shit

Races: zero. ooops. forgot

Ups: LOTS of stairs and running and cross training. AND SWEATING.

Downs: the easy week!!!! I am scared about the marathon training plan I put together.

Balance: It’s great. Though I am a bit anxious about how this marathon season is going to play out.

June

did I forget to write about June??? I guess SO! Oooops, what a mess. Well, my parents were visiting for a month if that is a good excuse! It was BU-SY!

what happened in June..?? well, I we took my parents everywhere. a month is like, 4 weeks, so we had tons of time to do stuff, and they’d done all the touristy stuff all the other times, so this time we did local’s stuff stuff, you know? like they’d walk to Randall’s Island everyday, or go to the GW, or go to November Project, or volunteer at a water table (for the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge). fun part is this is the first year in like 15 years, that my parents and I spend my birthday and my dad’s bday and father’s day in the same place! So cool right? Little things you get used to not having… oh well. We did do a couple of touristy things, like the Freedom Tour Observatory (meh), the NY Philarmonic in Central Park, and the Intrepid. But it stops there! Juan had a half Ironman so we went to Maryland or somewhere for the weekend. He did amazing. But he has been training like a maniac, twice a day, hours and hours in the indoor trainer, so I was happy he could get some good results! Me? I’ve been running and workout as usual. I finally managed to make cross-training part of my routine, which I talked about here, and I am SO excited about it!

Ups: LOTS of running and cross training. And we starting doing stairs workouts. AND IT’S HOT OUT

Downs: that this weather can’t last forever??? nothing!

Balance: I feel amazing. As fit as I’ve ever been. I have no interest in racing because I don’t want to taper. I just want to train and train and train!!!! that’s crazy right?

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May

Flowers Month started with the NJ Half, which now seems like aaaaages ago. Maybe because I did the Brooklyn Half and that also seems like aaaaaages ago!!! Well, it was only 10 days ago. Wow, I am aging fast! New Jersey was a meh race, I got bored, my heart rate was spiking and I wasn’t even sure why, missed a PR by 20 something seconds. I spent the whole month trying to lower it and find the culprit. Then I did the Newport 10K, which was fun but super hot so I missed a PR by a whole minute. A minute in a 10K is like a minute waiting for your Shake Shack buzzer to go off: e-t-e-r-n-i-t-yyyyy. A week later, and still tired, was the Brooklyn Half. I knew I didn’t have it so took it easy there and had a great fun (though slow) race. Best decision evah. Why try when you can just give up? 😉 Overall, I had a fun month, I did a million workouts and runs with lots of friends, I went out a lot, I looked for many races to do as soon as I recovered from Brooklyn then was happy that I didn’t sign up for anything, as it’s SO HOT out. Speedwork Tuesday was not just hot, it was HUMID and awful. Need to make sure I adjust to this crap ASAP. If you need a read on how to adjust to the heat and a lesson on how to over-hydrate, check this (skip to the bottom if you’re not into sciency/nerdy stuff). And you better be ready for the summer runs/racing. It’s happening whether you like it or not! What’s happening in June…? I’d like to say I have x race and x race but…. I do have a bunch of races in my calendar, but nothing I am 100% on. I think I need a liiiiiitle break from racing. Usually in May/June I have a race every weekend, sometimes 3 races in a week! I am just going to go with my heart this time, and see where the wind blows!

Ups: solid workouts, not just running, all sorts of stuff. I went up LOTs of stairs and bridges too.

Downs: my races sorta sucked. BK was fun but nothing fast.

Balance: Still in building mode for the Fall, I guess?. And having fun with it. May was fun but not the usual May where I score a bunch of awesome PRs! Oh well. Healthy and Fun wins over FAST. Actually, looking at the pictures in the slideshow, I have proof that I had all sorts of fun!

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April

I am ready… feeling ready to say hello to May and a NEW HALF PR, whether that’s New Jersey (May 1, this Sunday!!!!!) or the Brooklyn Half, well, that… I still don’t know, but I’ll be trying at both. Or I’ll be trying at NJ this weekend and then we’ll see about the other one!

I did one fun race in April, the Run for the Parks 4Miler, that went a bit (12 seconds) too slow and two IronStrength workouts that zapped my legs. Like OUCH. Or more like this feels worse that my first marathon (walking backwards downstairs and all). I also did a lot of coaching, I went to cheer on my athletes, team, and friends at the Boston Marathon, and last week I participated the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay. A busy month at work, lots of coaching, and quality runs. Plus some cross-training, which you know I hate! I am getting over it though, I think, we’ll see.

Ups: I got back on the horse about the #!*$! cross-training with some November Project and some Ironstrength. Each time I was out for days. I am not built for burpees. at all.

Downs: same as above, cross-training kills me. I’d do it and then not be able to walk normally or run for days!!!! And… where did my mileage go? Even last Saturday I tried to run (3 days past Ironstrength!!) and I couldn’t, UGH.

Balance: Building, building, waiting for my chance to ATTACK. Stay tuned. May should be my chance!

Good news: not to be braggy but I noticed how all my races lately have been over 70% Age Grading, which had always been my goal. So, happy (very happy) about that. Also noticed, that I have no need to do the 9+1 now as I qualify for the marathon (with my NYC Half time) , if I ever decided to do it. Whaaaaat? yeah, it’s a bit braggy but hey, it took YEARS! And lots and lots of sweat and early mornings!

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March

Ah it was a roller coaster!!!!! It was cold, it was hot, it was cold, you get it. I did some amazing workouts, some confidence-boosters, and lots of junk miles. It took a bit to psych myself up that I could do a sub 1:37 half. I did it. And then, the same day, I left for Argentina for two weeks, so it’s like it almost didn’t happen (it was funny when I got back home last week and my apartment looked like I just had done the half: pace bracelet, Gatorade, extra layers, mylar blanket, and stuff everywhere!!!). Remind me not to do that again! I barely run when in Argentina; maybe about 30 miles in two weeks. But had such a relaxing time!

Downs: where did my mileage go? I had no interest in running while I was on vacation. Or workout. Or anything, as usual.

Balance: Overall good. I still need to figure out a thing or two about the half, and how to drink while running and why I sometimes, after a hard effort, have no interest in any of it, but overall good.

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February

confirmed that this would be the most confusing and best winter ever. One day you have low temperature records and the next day you’re in shorts. A Blizzard, then 60 degrees. Still a lot better than just straight out freezing for the whole month (like last year). Somehow, I have still been able to train a lot this month, which is strange as I haven’t really taken a break since last March… So weird. I did quite good mileage, once short race, 6 interval workouts, three runs over 15 miles, ooops no tempo! Forgot about the tempo. Though I should probably count every time I run with Patricia as a tempo!!! 76% of my miles were on the briddle path, maybe that’s why I have been able to do all this mileage?

Ups: the weather was awesome for February. Lots of miles. Lots of fast miles! I love that we’re back in the briddle path for the speedwork!! Got a lot of new Under Armour gear and shoes. Managed to survive a long run with Patricia.

Downs: I am tired and we are 2.5 weeks from the NYC Half: I am starting to get nervous!

Balance: Great, ready to pounce!!

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January

was a solid month. I got 132 miles… how? Apparently I started doing longish runs again without noticing!!! I got five of them in the log: 12.5, 12.5, 15, 11, and 15.5, not sure what distance is “long” anymore but I guess if I am training for a half, anything over 8 miles is LONG. Right? Anyone knows?

I also did 5 speedwork sessions: Mile Repeats, 6x400s + 3x800s, 5x1K, 5 Cath Hill Sprints, and 6x800s. Plus a stoopid-hard workout at Orange Theory I had no idea how to include in my spreadsheet 😛

Weather has been ok so far, nothing like last year. We did have a rough day, when it was 17 (feels like 5) and we were doing intervals. It was BRUTAL. but you know, those are the days you go out because after that 20s and 30s feel like Summer. We had a little blizzard (22 inches of snow in 1 day) but I was able to run the day before and the day after so no biggie. And the briddle path was back in just 10 days!

I have now 6 weeks to the United NYC Half Marathon and I am super pumped. I need a Half PR this year guys, it’s been 3 years! I am desperate. I also signed up for the New Jersey Half. Oh, and Brooklyn Half too. It’s coming. I promise. I can see it. I can almost taste it! I am sure it tastes like unicorns, and victory and clouds, and sunny and yes, pizza from Rome.

Total Miles: 132.

Races: Zero (unless you count the times I need to race to be on time to meet running friends!)

Ups: the weather is not 100% miserable. Lots of consistent training and cross training.